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Diving to the Rosebud Vents - Galápagos Rift

May 1, 2005In 2002, researchers diving in the submersible Alvin returned to the
Galápagos Rift, a mid-ocean ridge about 250 miles from the Galápagos Islands in
the eastern Pacific Ocean where hydrothermal vents and exotic organisms were
first found in 1977. They discovered that seafloor lava had paved over a
hydrothermal vent site called Rose Garden, named for its abundant communities of
red-tipped tubeworms, mussels and clams the size of dinner plates, and other
animals. But a few hundred feet away, tiny animals had begun to colonize a new
vent field the researchers named Rosebud. On May 20, scientists will return to
the site to see how the hydrothermal community has evolved at Rosebud during
Dive and Discover Expedition 9. Researchers will again use Alvin to
see what chemical, microbial and geological changes have occurred, make detailed
maps of the animal distributions, and take high-resolution photographs to create
photomosaics of the seafloor. They will also sample the animals and lava flows,
deploy time-lapse cameras, larval traps, and chemical sensors directly at the
vents, and search for new animal communities and black-smoker vents along the
Galápagos Rift. Students and the public can join the expedition May 20-June 3 at
Dive and
Discover.

For Immediate Release

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